Milan 0-1 Tottenham: classic away European performance from Spurs

Tottenham kept it solid at the back, and won the game with a lightning quick break in the closing stages.

Max Allegri chose to use Thiago Silva in midfield, which meant Mario Yepes came in at the back. Clarence Seedorf was the trequartista, and Pato was left out.

Harry Redknapp couldn’t use Luka Modric from the start, so Sandro played in the centre of midfield. Niko Kranjcar was left out despite two goals in two games, with Steven Pienaar preferred.

Slightly surprisingly, Spurs dominated the start of the game. They had more possession and played most of the opening period in Milan’s half.

Crouch threat

Tottenham had one clear strategy – to work the ball to the flanks, where Milan were light both in terms of numbers and in terms of quality, and work 2 v 1s before swinging crosses in towards Peter Crouch. Crouch, who is more of an aerial threat than he’s sometimes given credit for, moved towards the back post and challenged one of Milan’s full-backs. Most frequently, Spurs worked the ball down the right and Crouch peeled off and challenge Ignazio Abate in the air.

The more impressive part of Spurs’ performance was their defensive showing, however. Knowing that Milan’s central midfield zone was not particularly creative (mostly because of the absence of Andrea Pirlo), they stood off and focused on keeping it tight between the lines of defence and attack, where Milan’s forward three players were trying to work.

Spurs defend as a team

The most obvious priority was to stop Clarence Seedorf having time on the ball. He was tracked across the pitch, generally by Wilson Palacios, who had an excellent game, and the Dutchman made almost no contribution. Milan had the classic problem with the 4-3-1-2 – if the trequartista isn’t creating, the team becomes completely disjointed and can’t get the ball forward. Milan were sluggish, slow and unambitious with their passing, which was both a result of Spurs’ tactics and helped Spurs’ tactics – Redknapp’s side had more time to get behind the ball and take up good defensive positions.

Palacios and Sandro dealt with Seedorf, whilst the Spurs wingers tracked Milan’s full-backs admirably. There was little forward drive from Mathieu Flamini or Rino Gattuso, and in all, Milan were terrible in the first half. The only notable feature of their play was how Thiago Silva dropped between the centre-backs to transform the four-man defence into a three-man defence when Spurs closed down from goal-kicks.

Second half

Allegri replaced Seedorf with Pato at half time, pushing Robinho deeper into the trequartista role rather than going 4-3-3, which seemed a more logical move. Milan’s play picked up in the second half – Flamini and Gattuso got forward more, and Robinho’s movement was better than Seedorf’s. Still, they lacked creativity in the final third, and by denying space between the lines, Spurs stifled good players remarkably easily.

The majority of Spurs' crosses came in the first 25 minutes

Despite a few substitutions, the formations and tactics changed little in the second half. Milan stayed 4-3-1-2, Spurs kept to a 4-4-1-1 shape, though Modric played deeper than Rafael van der Vaart.

Silva’s deployment in midfield meant that Milan lacked pace at the back, and they were exposed in fairly predictable circumstances – Aaron Lennon running at the back four with the ball on the break. Modric played him in at the start of the move and Crouch finished it, but it was Lennon’s pace that won this game, even though the goal was the only occasion he really demonstrated his speed on the ball. “We always knew if we got a breakaway we could get that away goal”, he said after the game.

Conclusion

Spurs impressed in the group stages because they were gung go, almost endearingly naive in the way they approached games – dodgy at the back but potent upfront. This was something quite different – controlled in defence and strategic in the way they attacked. Their central midfield duo played brilliantly – this was the first time they’d completed 90 minutes alongside one another, and their wingers did their defensive tasks flawlessly. As Steven Pienaar says, “Teamwork & collective responsibility was the key tonight“.

Spurs were excellent in the way they defended, but it was primarily due to the efforts of the midfield rather than the back four, who did nothing wrong, but didn’t have to do anything special.

Milan were atrocious in the first half, marginally better in the second but still lacking a clear goalscoring threat, and they remain vulnerable in a very obvious respect. They now have to take the game to Spurs in the second leg, and Spurs can play on the counter-attack from the outset. This is an uphill task for Allegri.

I would also add that Milan lacked width and became overreliant on the fullbacks to push up the pitch when they came out to win the game in the second half. The goal owed alot to the fact that Lennon’s pace and Crouch’s positioning allowed them to isolate and take on the centrebacks in 2 v 2 situation.

All Credit to Crouch on the goal too. He kept his distance from Lennon and forced his marker into choosing between providing cover or marking his man. In the end, he tried to have his cake and eat it and ended up doing neither job.

themostbrian on February 15, 2011 at 11:33 pm

So. Milan has to visit White Heart Lane without Gattuso to try for the outright win against a fit and in-form Spurs lineup that will have Bale, Modric, Van Der Vaart & Huddlestone fully back from injury?

Not happening.

Malibu Man on February 16, 2011 at 12:05 am

Scary, Bale is becoming a world-class player.

I think with current squad, plus one or two noteworthy signings, Tottenham will have the chance to win the premier league.

jonathan on February 16, 2011 at 1:51 am

I couldn’t disagree more. Spurs need one or two noteworthy signings to compete for fourth place next year. The only players who could possibly start for a title-winning squad would be Modric, Bale, and VdV; not a single defender they have is good enough, Gomes is too erratic, and they don’t have a top striker. Lennon could probably be a squad player and while Gallas and maybe Dawson would be useful to a top club, they wouldn’t be anything more than a reserve. Spurs are fun to watch but they are nowhere near challenging for more than fourth place.

ptSuttery on February 16, 2011 at 2:06 am

Gomes has been one of the four best keepers in the Prem the last two seasons statistically.

Spurs’ defenders are excellent when healthy. Gallas wouldn’t still start at Arsenal if he hadn’t had a falling out with Nasri and Wenger? Not to mention Ledley King and Jonathan Woodgate — when healthy, which is a big if — are two of the most talented central defenders in England. Every bit as good as Terry and Carragher, they just haven’t been able to stay on the pitch.

Spurs do need a top flight striker, though. That is the difference.

RA on February 16, 2011 at 2:13 am

That healthy part is pretty important though. Quality counts for nothing when they are in the treatment room more than half the time. In terms of going for the title I think they do need a match winning striker (like how Forlan or Villa were at the world cup) if they want to win it.

Fnarf on February 16, 2011 at 5:24 am

The problems Gomes was having earlier in the year were because Dawson was out, period. It was 100% a lack of communication, with confused defenders crossing Gomes and each other up. They were not used to working together without Dawson there to general. Dawson back solves that problem, and when that problem is solved Spurs have one of the top defenses in any league.

They need a top drawer striker is all.

And do note that they are challenging as-is not for fourth but for third. Two points back of City, game in hand. The team is for real.

Reuben Anderson on February 16, 2011 at 10:23 am

Totally agree, and I thought the result against Sunderland was extremely impressive given the side selected. If the Spurs “A” team is good enough to compete respectably in the champions league, .. then the “B” team is also good enough to beat midtable premier league teams away from home.

On the down side, there’s no way Spurs can afford the £40million plus £200k/week to sign a world class striker.

Grammar Boer on February 15, 2011 at 11:35 pm

Yes, I agree. As good as Spurs were given the circumstances (big European night; question marks about their ability to carry over good performances during relatively low pressure group stage games into the knockout stages; no Bale and a half-fit VDV; away at the San Siro), I thought Milan were really poor in the first half. Very questionable tempo, and the desire just seemed lacking.

People always bang on about the slow pace of Serie A, and having as an Inter follower witnessed a pretty low quality Juve-Inter derbi (‘della madonnina’ I think – Inter were utterly abysmal but Eto’o should still have ensured they came away with a point), this seems to still stand. Milan just seemed unable to rise above that pedestrian pace of theirs, and this was clearly a huge mistake. Spurs were able to sit back and organise, without even having to stretch themselves to produce lightning counter after lightning counter. The one time they nailed it, thought, it worked.

As recently as 2007, Milan showed that when it mattered they could raise their game and up the tempo. Remember how Kaka ripped Man Utd apart that year? Don’t look like they are even capable this year. Vediamo…

(Also, why no Cassano? Injury/cup tied??)

Dan on February 15, 2011 at 11:41 pm

Cassano is cup tied.

Mohammad Jordan on February 15, 2011 at 11:46 pm

Cassano is cup tied, I think he would have made a big difference because his final pass is always intelligent and he can find the solution in tight areas.

Van Bommel is another player who would have been useful

but you are right about the TEMPO, today I blame it on Ibrahimovic, he always wants to receive the ball just outside the box, turn around and make a decision, and he always puts himself in the path of the attack the team is too used to him which is wrong, sometimes you must have more faith in your team mates, you must look for the rebound, or to pull a defender with you.

This is not TRUE Milan football, this is Zlatan football, the same ugly football we saw under Juve and Inter and now hes bringing it to Milan, with Kaka, Milan can place a seige around the opponents penalty box but this freestyle football loses the ball too easily and is very frustrating and makes the team play with hot heads.

Anonymous on February 16, 2011 at 1:28 am

Grammer Boer

The Inter-Juventus game is the Derby d’Italia; Derby Della Madonnina’s the Inter-AC Milan game.

The tempo is absolute pedestrian whenever Seedorf plays, and without Pirlo; the midfield three stick close together as they’re only average at passing, leaving the AM quite a big space to cover, which the static Seedorf is incapable of filling. There were moments in the game when Seedorf just stood completely still at a poor spot waiting for the ball, leaving the attack completely seperated from the midfield.

Unable to play forward, the defense resorts to long balls. This is the cause of the “Zlatan Football”. Milan were quite capable of a short passing game last weekend when Cassano, Merkel and Van Bommel (allowing Thiago Silva to play in and run from defense), were in the team.

As a Milan fan, I would say that Spurs have an excellent chance to be in the last 8. Without Cassano’s creativity we are sorely lacking. Fortunately there are a lot of contracts that are running out at the end of the season so hopefully we will be able to rebuild the squad.

Paolo (the other one) on February 16, 2011 at 1:38 pm

Couldn’t agree more, we missed Cassano, and then some. Van Bommel and Emmanuelson would also have given us more quality/ enthusiasm in midfield. Milan will not go through as slong as Abate and Anonini continue to play. They are god awful, technically inept and completely depressing characters to watch.

But Pirlo is the biggest absentee. without him, we cannot link the play. I really cannot see what Allegri can do with the players at his disposal at the moment. Robinho, for all the talk of his improved form has had goals laid on a plate for him by Cassano and Ibra. He dribbles sideways, then loses the ball. and when the fight is on, he;s missing. Pato’s decline in confidence is more worrying still.

For what it is worth, I would play Pato and Ibra up front, supported by Merkel, who really should have been given a try last night. Milan do not score enough and the defence (when Nesta and Silva are separated by circumstance) is weak. Sorry to repeat myself but i truly cannot believe Antonini and Abate are in a Milan team, especially such a big game. They may have mobility but so does a headless chicken.

Dan on February 15, 2011 at 11:37 pm

It was frustrating to see how poor Milan were, and how obvious their lack of width was. The few times they got in crosses they actually threatened. Allegri made a serious mess of this game. I don’t really follow Milan closely but if they have wingers available, they needed them both offensively and defensively today.

Charles on February 16, 2011 at 1:36 am

Dan, I don’t think it was the *lack* of width, but more what Abate and Antonini did with the space out wide. Milan plays with attacking fullbacks (whereas Napoli or Liverpool 2.0 play with wingers), but these guys aren’t exactly Cafu storming up the flank (though Abate did have one nice run in the second half.)

Add in the conservative midfield and Thiago Silva dropping occasionally as a third central back, and Milan’s attack relied far too much on the fullbacks getting forward. I’m still puzzled by the starting lineup, particularly at home.

Dan on February 16, 2011 at 1:51 am

I guess so. But with only one player on each flank they were outnumbered by a winger and a fullback. I thought they might have gotten more joy pushingdown the left due to Pienaar’s lack of defensive discipline but Assou Ekotto usually had help. And the 3 Milan holders did very little to help defensively. But Milan has spare fullbacks who could have played as auxiliary wingers tonight. Spurs had some trouble dealing with crosses and Milan could have gotten a lot more joy trying that way.

Baxter O on February 16, 2011 at 3:02 am

Pirlo was a major loss for Milan. If he was fit, he would have occupied his usual spot at the base of the diamond and Milan would at least have had an option in the centre. That midfield quartet was incredibly poor for an AC Milan XI, injury hit or not: an out of position centre half; two well-past-it fading stars; and an out of sorts Flamini (who has never settled in Serie A). If Pirlo and even Ambrosini don’t come in at WHL, Spurs will win easily (especially with Modric and Bale in the XI. Just think: Bale on Abate or Oddo as well as Lennon on Antonini. You don’t have to be a Spurs fan to see how that is likely to unfold).

Not their style, but i do agree with you. Width definitely would of helped create more space in the center. For the likes of seedorf, robhino, and ibra to operate. All technically reliant players need space to operate in.If you decress that space you severely hamper their game.(unless they are world class) A good metaphor for this would be, if you take the oxygen away, the fire will go to.

Mohammad Jordan on February 15, 2011 at 11:38 pm

This was a terrible match by Milan above anything else. I am tired of these arrogant approaches in big european games, it seems to me that Allegri did not study the game well enough and did not learn from previous mistakes, everyone knows Milan suffers when they face a team that plays on the wings so what was the point of playing a diamond midfield that cannot create and in all honesty did not really defend very well either?

Players like Flamini and Antonini are not Milan calibre, they add nothing to our game, Flamini does not win the ball, he does not pressure very good either, and he cannot bring the ball forward and he does not make use of the shooting opportunities he puts himself into. Antonini cannot use his left foot to start with, he runs forward aimlessly, he leaves too much space behind and on one on ones he lets the wings come too close to the danger area.

But the worst player was definetly Ibrahimovic, a player who talks alot of rubbish and tries to chose the formation should really concentrate on challenging games such as these. It is easy to bully around melodramatic Italian defenders but against stubborn and physical defenders from england he disappears, he even stop requesting the ball as usually likes to, the one time he dropped back to pick it up he made the not so wise choice of losing it in the middle of the pitch and he did not bother to track back on his mistake, so much for someone who ’sacrifices’ alot for the team.

I can only wonder what will happen on the return leg with home support and Bale there to bombard the left flank? But its not like Milan have a weaker squad than Tottenham, its that they dont want to adapt to their opponents style, for starters I hope Pato will start, maybe even ahead of Ibrahimovic, and only god can help us without Pirlo and Ambrosini in midfield, and with Gattuso out I guess that means we will have to see Flamini again!

JH on February 15, 2011 at 11:42 pm

Missed the last few minutes, but why was the goal disallowed?

Sorry for going OT, just wondering. Otherwise, Tottenham were good, although Milan were poor.

Dan on February 15, 2011 at 11:44 pm

Ibra shoved his marker to gain space in the area before volleying. Pretty blatantly too.

Grammar Boer on February 15, 2011 at 11:51 pm

I think he was offside when the ball was played, too. Either way it was a good decision.

sibelkacem on February 16, 2011 at 12:59 am

Yes, and that’s what the linesman raised his flag for. I only wonder whether he saw that Ibra was off-side, but just gave the foul a precedence (as off-side is waived at the moment of the receive, and Ibra first fouled then played the ball) or not .

Ben on February 15, 2011 at 11:50 pm

A push from Ibrahimovic on Dawson before he volleyed it home.

Edit: too slow…

Lars on February 15, 2011 at 11:54 pm

two-handed push in the back of dawson

C.L. on February 15, 2011 at 11:52 pm

That was an impressive performance from our midfield duo – esp considering that Sandro, who’d just come over from the Brazilian league, had only completed his first full game for us a few days ago! A mature performance from a young player, helped by Palacios returning to form. The European game may actually suit him more for now than the faster-tempo, more physical PL. However, it was still a really brave call from Redknapp, considering how inexperienced Sandro is and how absolutely disastrous the Sandro-Palacios pairing was in the first half at the Reebok.

Because of injuries, the Spurs team was actually fairly slow compared to the usual starting XI – only Lennon out there would be called a pacy player. (Granted, compared to Milan….) This might actually have helped curb our normal gungho instincts to just fly forward. Here “team” players like Pienaar worked really hard in defense. That was another brave call from Redknapp to start with him rather than the in-form Kranjcar (one of my favorite Spurs players tbf); I think Niko would’ve worked hard too, but I can see the rationale in keeping the game tight in the first half and saving him for a more tired Milan in the second.

Some credit too should go to the defense, since so many have questioned them this season while the midfield has already been praised to high heaven. I know that Dawson is not the fastest or most cultured so you’d fear for him against Robinho and Ibra, Pato etc but he was steadfast tonight alongside Gallas, who is proving to be a great bargain. Woodgate hasn’t played a bit in a year and a half but it looked like he never left, and Gomes may have come under a bit of stick this season but – as usual – turned up when it counted. Hansen may think that Benny is godawful but he wouldn’t find a single yid who’d agree! And Charlie was back to his usual fine form until he was scythed down by Flamini.

A counterattacking game would suit Spurs at the Lane, but I have to say, defending leads really isn’t a position we’re used to in the CL (or, well, in general this season). If we work hard enough as a team and get players back from injury, I think the speed of Bale and Lennon will be too much for them, and hopefully Modric and VdV will be able to play full games by then too. It would be interesting to see what Redknapp would do if all our players were back by then, including Huddlestone, Jenas, Kaboul etc.

Word about Gattuso – what he did was classless, obviously, and no doubt will draw the most attention but in the end it was still Flamini who actually injured a player. Gattuso’s all bark and no bite!

agree. sandro performance was quite surprising
he worked well as the ‘extra man’ in defence
plus the goal started from his intercept/tackle

Charles on February 16, 2011 at 1:38 am

Also agree – I thought Sandro and the central backs were outstanding tonight. Ibrahimovic and Robinho were often coming back to near midfield to collect the ball in the first half, and Milan resigned themselves to long-balls the last 5-8 minutes.

T.N.T on February 16, 2011 at 12:07 am

-> Milan is facing again the common problems, that are not appearing in Italy due to lack of competition, and low level of Serie A (this was the 5th in England versus the Serie A leaders.. Wow.. huge difference between the leagues..) If Milan wants to progress in Europe, they should rebuilt the center and defence.. There is no CL team with high potential and expectations with a slow midfield. Gattuso, ambrosini, seedorf, pirlo, were great but there is an end for everything.. Next year they should be playing somewhere else, maybe in smaller countries leagues and Milan should buy at least two class Mds, along with auxilliary work from Flamini,Emanuelson, and Boateng.. In the defence, keep Silva, maybe Nesta (cause defenders are more reliable even older) and buy one CB and two decent FB (especially left one)..
Oops! i forgot! and a GK immediately..

->Tottenham were great.. Much impressed form this great side from the begining of the season..
Agree with Marc.. Transformed today into a more cautious version.. If they face Valencia,shalke,roma or Shaktar in the quarters they will be in the semi..
Would not be surprised to see them in the final in Wembley ..
They are outsiders, but who knows? they have proven a hard-working and great brand of football side…

Mark Hayden on February 16, 2011 at 12:12 am

Not to mention Milan has ZERO width….their full backs do good of getting up field but they lack any creativity and their crosses are garbage…for Milan to become a CL contender they really need to invest in some creative CM’s and some talented FB’s

ac on February 16, 2011 at 12:13 am

i believe with so many midfielders out, thiago silva will continue to play at the midfield for milan at white hart lane. his drop back into the defence line reminds me of brazil 2002 -edmilson. or napoli 2010.. however, abate and antonini arent cafu and roberto carlos. I think milan just need them to run non-stop thats all, since neither has much defensive qualities. milan still have a chance, but the chance is really low now. if boateng comes back…

really an uphill task for milan for nxt match. just hoping that there are no further injuries, if not milan can just concentrate on the scudetto and endure the taunts from the english. 3 consecutive seasons lost at home.. at least 0-1 is better than a 2-3.

Paolo (the other one) on February 16, 2011 at 1:41 pm

Not an attack, just a question… how can you justify a starting berth for Robinho? And do you really believe Abate / Antonini can possibly play given how utterly inept they are? Merkel has to start, he’s the only Milan player, along side Boateng who has a bit of spark about him at the moment.

Alain on February 17, 2011 at 7:00 am

I think on the formation ac described above, I would start Abate; who is better when pushed up in midfield and free of defensive duties.

kaveh on February 16, 2011 at 12:14 am

Milan are an odd team. In one game they look like a mid table team and in another they look elite. Today the crap team showed up. But reading some of the posts from spurs fans, it seems you guys are celebrating advancement, lol. Not so fast. I wouldn’t be surprised if a much more aggressive team showed up in two weeks. And in my mind, that’s what was missing. No aggression until the second half at which point they were dominating the match. The goal came against the run of play, not to mention the keeper made some great reflex saves. The manager should take Tue blame for coming out so defensive. I don’t think the same mistake will be made in the second leg.

BTW, the hacking, diving and all around cheating by Milan was a disgrace.

MrSpang on February 16, 2011 at 12:29 am

Today Spurs fans celebrate. Tomorrow we remember that with Spurs, anything can happen.

I thought Palacios and Sandro were excellent playing in that pivot in front of defence. Seedorf had a poor game, but he did look like the player most likely to come up with a pass that would have put Spurs under pressure. I assume that’s why whenever the ball came his way, he had Palacios or Sandro biting at his heels.

Qwe on February 17, 2011 at 6:40 am

“The goal came against the run of play…”
-Yes, the Italian way…

Izzy on February 16, 2011 at 12:29 am

It’s matches like this that make me think Harry Redknapp is actually a great tactician, but then I remember his hate for tactics. It really is a shame that he feels that way. Either way, Redknapp, and Tottenham, have shown an ability to handle European football – Both dwellers of the San Siro taken out handily and one of which was taken down with some serious injuries. They’ve got to be a dark-horse for the Champions League Final at the very least.

Monty on February 16, 2011 at 2:30 am

I really think England should be looking at him to be the next manager for England seriously.

Dave C on February 16, 2011 at 8:15 pm

I think his hatred of tactics is definitely just either self-deprecating modesty, or a deliberate smoke-screen.

johannes cruijff on February 16, 2011 at 12:55 am

Why did Allegri played with silva, gattuso, flamini insted of gattuso, flamini, seedorf, and robinho pato ibrahimovic from the begining?
And, I think that tott could play with Vaart in the middle and Kranjcar as AMC. Defoe as alone striker, because of his speed and movement.

corluka gallas dawson ekotto

lennon palacios vaart pieanaar

…………kranjcar

………..defoe
They didn’t need two tacklers in the middle, and vaart was between 2 or three players and he couldn’t get any space. Playing him as an deep playmaker, and with Niko as amc, with Vaart runs from box to box, and good wide play Tottenham could press and push Milan deep. That’s my opinion.

Ctho21 on February 17, 2011 at 11:56 pm

Modric will be fit so it will be vdv in the hole and modric in midfield

Hoya on February 16, 2011 at 1:06 am

Milan couldn’t make any creativity with midfield players. Their passes were atrocious. It seems to me Milan’s football philosophy can’t catch up with contemporary one. Hopefully with Cassano and Van Bommel, Milan could be better. But obviously with Seedorf who doesn’t have pace and speed, and Gattuso whose temper is only what he’s got, it’s inconceivable to see the beautiful football they used to boast.

Meanwhile, Spurs showed off their young and energetic performance. It would’ve been a lot better if they had utilised Lennon’s speed more often. First half was not bad at all for Spurs, but the Spurs attacking direction tended to go with left side where too congested. Today’s Lennon looked overly comfortable with the ball, and gave a couple of real threats on right flank.
I can’t wait to see this talented winger with Bale on left side.
Dawson was absolutely fantastic.

AC Milan needs new vision and perspective. Sitting on the top spot in Serie A doesn’t guarantee their reputation if they can’t win over other European teams.

sibelkacem on February 16, 2011 at 1:07 am

The goal was partly a fault of Ibrahimovic, who played the ball overambitiously and Milan lost it. Two passes later, Lennon was storming Milan’s defender… The goal in the last minute would be a big relief for the Swede, but unfortunately for him he both fouled and was off-side.

I was watching the match with my one eye (the other one focused on my paper), but I managed to notice Palacios in two situations. In both of them, he played very stupiditly, thus I was puzzled when I read here that he had a pefect game.

I can’t see Milan getting through anymore, to be honest : ).
Thanks for covering this match, ZM. Cheers.

bobeto on February 16, 2011 at 2:19 am

Re: Ibra

Very true, but more important is the question of why he made that pass – because Milan had no creativity in the final third for all their possession in the second half, and he felt he had to force the issue. I’m by no means Ibra’s biggest fan, but some of the flak he’s taking is a little unfair. He played badly, but in such a poor team, with so little service, it would be hard for any individual to have a good game.

Re: Palacios

For me, he was man of the match. I lost count of the times he robbed Milan of the ball. As mentioned in my point on Ibra, his task was helped by a ponderous opposition midfield (and the excellent defensive structure/individual performances around him), but he fulfilled his brief and then some.

sibelkacem on February 16, 2011 at 2:25 pm

On the other hand in a great team, with a lot of service, it would be easy for any individual to have a good game . Damn, he is playing in Milan, it can’t serve as an excuse . But I think you got the point there – no creativity coming from his teammates forced him to try to create something by himself.

Cheers

Charles on February 16, 2011 at 1:47 am

ZM, I’ve read this Web site for about a year now. Great work, as always, and I wanted to share something from the broadcast.

Here in the US, Fox Soccer Channel had two fairly partial Tottenham announcers who were captains of the Less Skill, More Passion club. Ironic, too, because with Van Der Vaart, Modric, and Kranjcar, Tottenham demonstrated more skill tonight than Milan did with Ibrahimovic, Robinho, and Seedorf (though Pato looked decent.)

Anybody know who these guys were? I felt like their tactical knowledge dried up around 1990.

ptSuttery on February 16, 2011 at 2:04 am

It was probably Christopher Sullivan and Warren Barton. I generally like them, particularly Sullivan, but most pundits don’t seem to understand how talented Spurs’ creative players on. Modric still doesn’t seem to get enough credit for being the best central midfielder in the Premiership this year and Kranjcar is criminally underrated (by his own manager, nonetheless).

The fact that Gomes — who has only been worse than Reina, Van der Saar and Cech statistically since ‘Arry took over — still is regarded as some kind of flimsy keeper is ridiculous. Yes, he has some insane moments — but so have Van der Saar and Cech. Hell, just last year Cech went through a spell in which pundits and fans thought Chelsea should bench him. Keepers aren’t infallible.

Anonymous on February 16, 2011 at 4:05 am

Rob Hawthorne and Ray Wilkens. The latter is a formor ac milan midfielder.

BostonSoccer on February 16, 2011 at 5:21 pm

The commentary took away the charm of watching the match in US. It’s good to be passionate about your team but then you should not be on public TV. I hope the people on tonight’s game are better [I am an Arsenal fan but still..]

HR on February 16, 2011 at 3:44 am

Thanks ZM for covering this match and posting it so early.Great win for spurs.The result definitely shows the class btw the leagues. Everybody knows last years Inter win was bcoz of Jose Mourinho. One thing I dont understand is why everybody describes EPL as a more physical league.Definitely EPL is not more physical than Serie A, it is just more intensive, pacy and one touch football.If u want a proof than look at the amount of creative midfielders in top 5 EPL clubs and Serie A clubs.

If Inter won because of Jose Mourinho, why did Chelsea never win it under him?

And Sanchez, Sneijder, Pastore, Cavani, Hernanes etc hold up very well against their English equivalents.

Gabriel on February 16, 2011 at 9:21 pm

Cavani is probably the most in-form striker in Europe right now.

Senortubbs on February 16, 2011 at 4:28 am

As I saw it, far from being the imperious favourites, Milan looked like they went in feeling that they had very little chance of winning the midfield battle. Given the full choice of their squad, they probably would have wanted to run with Cassano, Pirlo, Ambrosini and either Boateng or Van Bommell in midfield for this game. Without the class and ball retention skills of those guys they seem to have decided that their only chance to control possession was to almost literally fight for it, a central defender was thrown in, meanwhile Gattuso and Flamini were clearly fired up to intimidate players rather than play well themselves.

Tactically it was a failure, and it’s never a good idea going into a game assuming that you aren’t good enough to win with class, but most teams would start to think about those sort of options when left without their ENTIRE first choice midfield.

About all I could imagine doing differently would have been to perhaps throw Silva back as a sweeper to deal with pacy runs, and maybe having Pato and Robinho playing in a wider 4-3-3 formation to at least give the Tottenham wingers a reason to feel guilty about coming forward.

Neither of those however would have fixed the catastrophic lack of a connection between midfield and attack, and while I would love to join the bandwagon of blaming Berlusconi, Galliani and even the poor quality of Serie A in general for that, it’s hard to really do that when they had a few solutions that were cup tied. If Tottenham had faced the squad that Milan is currently using to grind out their lead in Serie A, it would undoubtedly have been a very different game.

Much as I would love to see Milan hoist the Champions League trophy, even a miracle at White Hart Lane would only prolong the agony before an even better squad knocks us out. About all we have to hope for is that with things now a little more desperate, Allegri comes up with a really interesting tactical solution for that game, something like what Roma did when they ran out of strikers, only in reverse, because in this case they don’t have a midfield. Then at least there’ll be something interesting to talk about.

Baxter P on February 16, 2011 at 5:05 am

I think the fact Milan reinforced their squad in January with two CL-tied key players shows their absolute priority is Serie A, and the CL is definitely secondary. If Tottenham do knock them out at WHL, it frees Milan to focus 100% on the Scudetto (and it would suit them even more if Inter progress past Bayern). Like you say, they don’t have the squad to compete with the elite in Europe at present, and would be easily defeated by Barca/Man U/Chelsea/Arsenal/Madrid. Winning the Scudetto this season must be their first goal; then, with Cassano, Van Bommel and 2-3 summer reinforcements, they can have a serious tilt at the CL in 2011/12.

Alain on February 17, 2011 at 6:54 am

You’re quite right about the above, but I believe the reason all those players were signed in January was to free up the “core” team for the Champions League, which unfortunately is now marred by injuries. A midfield of Pirlo, Ambrosini, and Boateng with Merkel as a sub would have freed up the front trio to produce a better result. Additionally, when you have a midfield containing Thiago Silva, Gattuso, and Flamini, you would want to use it to defend a second-leg lead rather than push for one. Perhaps next season we would be able to see a Milan side capable of challenging on all fronts. Things are so much easier to look at in hindsight!

Joe on February 16, 2011 at 5:58 am

Milan’s 4-3-1-2 formation wasn’t working. The game could have been turned around if they had switched to 4-3-3, with Robinho out left and Pato out right, but Allegri stuck with his favored 4-3-1-2 system which offered no width or penetration. Seedorf now plays his best football from a deeper midfield position, as his possession and close control is excellent. The higher up he plays he is wasted, but Milan don’t have many options for that free role behind the strikers. He was a square peg in a round hole tonight. Another key problem for Milan is the fullbacks. Abate is naturally a winger, and it is glaringly obvious in the way he plays at right-back. He is physically diminutive, defensively naive and positionally poor. Milan do have other options here such as Oddo and Zambrotta, but the best option would have been Antonini. Instead, Antonini was playing left-back where he has played for the last 2-3 seasons. Even after a prolonged period in that position, he is still terribly right-footed, rarely switching to his weaker left foot. Paulo Maldini he is not. When Maldini played there, you couldn’t tell that he wasn’t naturally left-footed, as he would use his left foot for prolonged periods in games quite comfortably. Antonini is clearly incapable of doing this; he offers no penetration at all and looked vulnerable all night. Again, Milan do have other options for left-back, such as Jankulovski or Vila, but the former is really past it now and the latter is very young and inexperienced. Milan have a star-studded forward line but beyond that their squad is mediocre in many areas. They need to invest heavily.

ricci on February 16, 2011 at 6:13 am

Maldini was left footed.

I thought the young lad Merkel could have been used tonight. His forward runs are usually timed very well and he looks to get beyond the defenders. Milan had zero drive tonight, and just looked to play in front of Spurs which obviously played right into their hands.

Anonymous on February 16, 2011 at 6:32 am

Maldini was right footed, but both footed would be a better description.

I agree that Merkel should have started, he’s movement would have been so much better than Seedorf’s who was simply standing still most of the time.

Benn Fitz on February 16, 2011 at 10:05 am

Maldini was right-footed.

ricci on February 16, 2011 at 2:28 pm

How come he took the penalty at Euro 2000 left footed? I also remember him taking corners/free kicks with his left. I realize he could use both, but surely his let was his stronger foot?

Joe on February 16, 2011 at 6:03 pm

I thought this was widely known – when Maldini was coming up at Milan there was no chance of him getting into central defence or right back, so he practiced with his left foot, with a view to playing at left back. Since then he became just as good with either foot. Part of the reason he was so good at left back was that he was equally good with either foot so could cut inside or go down the outside with ease. Antonini is woeful in the left back position, has no left foot and no where near the ability of Maldini. It is surely one of the weakest areas of the team, along with Abate at right back. People talk about Milan’s aging players as a weakness, but this isn’t the cause of the problems, it’s more about the formation and weak fullbacks.

Anonymous on February 16, 2011 at 6:46 am

To be fair, Abate had a good game against Cristiano Ronaldo before he had gotten injured. This was his first game back from injury, so maybe he shouldn’t have been playing, as he looked rather rusty with many misplaced passes.

Seedorf’s inactivity is a liability in any position against any good teams. He was always too far forward or too deep as he moved so slowly, leading to the huge gap between defense and attack. Its not as if he passes excellently either; how many passes did he misplace last night?

4-3-3 was tried before by Allegri, and it doesn’t work. Robinho and Pato are stationed far from the play, leaving Ibra isolated, and the midfield can’t pass it to them either when Pirlo isn’t playing. They don’t really put in much defensive work either. The midfielders are either not creative enough to support Ibra or not mobile enough to motor up and down.

Yes, Milan need some heavy investments, but at least they’re starting to buy the right players. At least they have stopped throwing good money at way past it Brazilians.

Benn Fitz on February 16, 2011 at 10:15 am

Disagree completely on your assessment of Abate. Abate has become an excellent defender this season. If you watched Milan play you would know that he is our best fullback by far defensively. If he improves his crossing, which he has done lately, he will become a major threat going forward as well because he has electrifying pace and decent dribbling skills. Antonini offers absolutely no attacking threat whatsoever when he plays either side. His crossing is abysmal with both feet. His defensive skills are not very good either. A proper leftback is priority number 1.

Joe on February 16, 2011 at 6:06 pm

I have watched Abate for several years now. He is not a bad player at all, if he plays in his natural position as a wide right attacking player. As a right back he is terrible. He is physically weak, has poor defensive positioning and he doesn’t have any ability to challenge in the air, which is why Crouch targeted him by moving to Abate’s area of defensive responsibility to win his headers.

Alain on February 17, 2011 at 7:22 am

Perhaps Allegri could play Abate in the same position Leonardo played Beckham last season; not wide and forward, but as a winger for the second-leg. He has been improving defensively but as right-back is not his current position, he could aid the right-back (Oddo fits best here in a short-term solution). The left-back ought to be better once Zambrotta returns from injury.

Paolo (the other one) on February 16, 2011 at 1:46 pm

i think this is an astute comment. i fear Allegri is too standard and “logical” a coach to offer the flexibility needed in games like these. Anotnini and Abate starting will ruin Milan;s chances of attacking with purpose. Oddo and Zambrotta are far better choices, despite their age as they can tackle and cross far better. if it turns into an all out open game, Zam and Oddo are better users of the ball, so whereas they will get caught defensively, at least they have both the positioning skills to avoid that as much as possible, and the distribution tools to put pressure on the spurs defence. Milan are crying out for someone like Davide Santon and Michel Bastos to really do what they do best, build attacks from deep.

Trequartista from SA on February 16, 2011 at 7:53 am

As has been mentioned above, Ibra is too static, he kills the space in front of goal (hence being sold by Barca) by not engaging in any lateral movements to drag the centre forwards away from goal. Milan was just unimaginative in their passing first half. They played a lot of airial 50-50 speculative balls. Seedorf is past his sell by date. Their midfielders were almost all defensive and not creative enough. Their fullbacks were reluctant to join the attack (negative tactics) and this led to Robinho and Ibra being isolated in the forward areas which were always manned by the Spurs’back four. Good approach by Spurs but they should expect a more determined Milan in the 2nd leg.

Benn Fitz on February 16, 2011 at 10:27 am

Ibra just seems to take up positions that mobile creative players should be taking up (peeling out wide, trequartista). Ibra has all the skills to be a brilliant trequartista, but unfortunately for him he was blessed with a 6 foot 5, 200 lbs frame which is a heavy immobile frame to be moving around (not to mention tiring). Ibra has always seemed to want to create rather than score but managers have tried to make him play as a centerforward which he hates. Even though he is huge, he does not relish the physical battle and doesn’t win nearly enough headers.

Your point on the fullbacks is spot on. They seemed to be instructed to simply keep width and then pass back to the midfield. The second half they were let off the leash and pinned spurs back quite well. Abate was especially impressive in this respect, pushing forward and putting in a few decent teasing balls.

Paolo (the other one) on February 16, 2011 at 1:54 pm

Abate was average at best. Most of his efforts involved him running the ball into the advertising hoardings. Milan;s fullbacks are the two of the leats technically gifted players the club has ever given a squad number to. this is no exaggeration, they lack any defensive discipline and they pass like they’re giving away a virus.

Although Harry had a slightly understaffed midfield to pick from, picking Sandro and Palacios worked perfectly with them both keeping it tight at the back and looking to move the ball sideways when they had possession. By not giving away many opportunities to the Milan midfield and moving the ball to the impressive wingers, Milan were forced out of their comfort zone for much of the game. A great win for Spurs, let’s hope that they can follow it up when they play at home.

Thank you for the analysis once again ZM, and congrats to all Spurs fans. Terrific display, it was a well deserved win for you!

One thing that really surprised me, was how uncomfortable Modric was playing higher up the pitch. He did come to England as an attacking midfielder didn’t he? Harry’s done an amazing job moulding him into that deeper role that he plays nowadays, and by doing that, really getting the absolute best out of him.

And a question to you Serie A fans- is Flamini really that kind of a player, or did he just completely lost it? Sure I remember him being combatitive from his Arsenal days, but last night he was really out of it. That challenge in the 1st half on VDV was veeery dangerous (which didn’t even result in a free-kick ?!), and obviously that tackle on Corluka was pure crazy.

Oh, and get well soon Corluka. Hopefully it’s better than first feared.

Paolo (the other one) on February 16, 2011 at 1:51 pm

I’d like to make a brief comment about Flamini here… it was a rash, aggressive tackle. And, by the laws of today;s game, he should have been sent off, no question. However, he got the ball using a tackle that would be considered legitimate in all but the last – what? – 5-10 years of the game. Great defenders and tacklers of the past used to tackle two-footed, successfully, and in that era Best, Maradona, Cryuff etc flourished. So let’s not go over the top and equate Flamini;s tackle with some kind of back alley assault.

Regarding Gattuso. Two grown men were clearly up for a scrap. One of them was the captain of Milan, the other a 60 year old assistant coach goading him from the sidelines, squaring up to him during a very crucial match. they’re both dunderheads. Jordan;s not complaining and Gattuso probably would have taken a punch in teh chops, too. It was a flare-up, no big deal.

A well deserved win for Spurs and a worrying performance from my team, Milan. Then again, in perspective, it;s only half-time, isn’t it? Milan must approach this like any other game, they must score more goals than the opposition. And that’s football, isn;t it?

When out of possession, Tottenham’s midfield was really quite narrow with Pienaar especially coming inside. With VdV dropping back, this meant that we were not outnumbered in the midfield area contrary to what the initial formations might have suggested, and they found it very hard to play through us. And whenever their full backs tried to attack, ours handled them fine.

Then when in possession, we made the pitch wide and attacked down the flanks in pairs, BAE and Pienaar down one side and Corluka and Lennon down the other. Their full backs just couldn’t cope and didn’t get enough help from the midfield.

To me this is evidence for what ZM and Jonathan Wilson have been saying for a while: Harry really is an astute tactician. He might not be conscious of it, perhaps to him he just feels like he’s managing with his (ample) gut, but if so it’s pretty clear to me that his gut has an impressive amount of footballing nous.

If we broadly define tactics as utilizing the players you have at your disposal to the maximum effect, I don’t think anyone in the EPL does more with” less”. There is beauty in the simplicity that Tottenham have been bringing to their CL matchups this season. I had hoped that they would make a January signing of a striker, but I am realizing their game just does not require one. Modric, in my opinion, is criminally underrated in that he isn’t considered on Xavi’s level in terms of vision, and especially ball-retention. Someone above seemed to think he looked “uncomfortable”, but to me , being up 1-0 away, all you need to do is press diligently and play keepaway. It seems that when you have central midfielders who can play the keep-ball game and wingers in Bale and Lennon who can torch down the flanks from deep positions, you are fielding a squad that can cause matchup problems everywhere, especially if the delivery is aimed at Crouc/van der Vaart, given Crouch’s height and vdv’s “dutchness”. Lennon’s break was a very plesant reminder that the fella lining up on the right can fly also. I’m pining to see this squad have a go at Barca, might have to settle for Arsenal :p. Tactics or telling his guys to “go out there and have a go”, Harry knows what he is doing, and it is quite funny to note that pundits claiming he is some kind of simpleton haven’t had much to say. There is a seriously entertaining blend of skills and selfless play that Tottenham fans are enjoying this year.

Peter on February 16, 2011 at 10:04 pm

I think he does very well and has players at his disposal who do not seem to require their egos to be attended to. A stable of possesion midfielders and wingers who can fly on both sides cause matchup problems for everyone. A tall target man paired with a dutchman up top also helps.

Taijin_Kyofusho on February 16, 2011 at 3:08 pm

Since most valid points have been made already I just can’t help but bitc about how Milan conceded that goal.Tottenham deserved the win but Milan should’ve been more clever not to let that counter work.Instead of pointing out both Yepes’s and Nesta’s poor decision making in that particular moment (Nesta is or at least used to be world class so more is expected from him as far as keeping his decisions cool in such occasions) I must bitch about Abate.

At the start of the counter he can see Lennon bursting forward and he’s almost only jogging back himself.He only puts an effort in and starts sprinting when Lennon is past Yepes which is too late.Of course he couldn’t make it on time and cover for Nesta.He only arrives when the ball is in the net.It was utterly frustrating

If mistakes aren’t made goals aren’t conceded but being outplayed doesn’t always mean you have to lose.

I must point out the basic schoolboy error that Yepes made in the build-up of the goal. Instead of forcing Lennon to Yepes’ right – thereby forcing Lennon to use his weaker left foot and also where Nesta is – Yepes let him go the other way. Add to that the mistimed tackle and Nesta was in the middle of two players not sure which one to cover.

In contract, the positioning and timing of Dawson and Gallas were pretty much spot on.

johannes cruijff on February 16, 2011 at 7:12 pm

Yes, agree on that. He should position himself differently, stoping lennon from going right and forcing him left, on his left. Good point, but thats what makes difference between good and not so god defender.

ndc on February 16, 2011 at 6:05 pm

The comments about tactics seem spot on, but really it was just shocking how much better the Spurs players were in terms of their individual technical ability and movement. Milan looked physically pretty good, but Spurs were just so much better at showing for the ball, keeping it simple, playing it to a teammate’s feet, not giving it away cheaply. Well done and I think their fans should have every reason to be not just happy with the result but proud at the manner in which it was achieved.